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CHAPTER 8: IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES MARKETING,

FINANCE/ACCOUNTING, R&D, AND MIS ISSUES
After studying and discussing this chapter, you should be able to do the following:
1. Explain market segmentation and product positioning as strategy-implementation tools.
2. Discuss procedures for determining the worth of a business.
3. Explain why projected financial statement analysis is a central strategy-implementation tool.
4. Explain how to evaluate the attractiveness of debt versus stock as a source of capital to implement strategies.
5. Discuss the nature and role of research and development in strategy implementation.
6. Explain how management information systems can determine the success of strategy-implementation efforts.

There is no perfect strategic decision. One always has to pay a price. One always has to balance
conflicting objectives, conflicting opinions, and conflicting priorities. The best strategic decision is
only an approximation and a risk. Peter Drucker

MANAGEMENT IN ACTION: AUDI AG

Audi is performing very well in the global recessionary
environment. A wholly-owned subsidiary of
Volkswagen AD since 1964, Audi is headquartered in
Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany.
While other automobile companies have struggled
during the 2008 2010 era of economic distress, Audi
has increased its sales and advertising.
For the first nine months of 2009, Audi delivered
108,000 of the 705,000 cars imported into China. Audi
produces 100 percent galvanized cars to prevent
corrosion, the first mass-market vehicle to do this.

Audi spent $6 million on a 60-second 2010 Super Bowl

advertising spot as part of its 20 percent increase in
advertising in the United States. The ad features an Audi
A6 coupe running away from a Mercedes and a BMW.
In Europe, Audi outsells Mercedes and BMW.
In the United States, Audi sold 8,000 cars in August 2009
alone, up 26 percent from that months sales in 2008.
Audi has a strategic plan to become the leading
premium car brand by 2015. its share of the premium
car market share in the United States has increased to
8.2 percent.

 Audi is also pushing its fuel-efficient diesel engine

cars in the United States. The company has a new
advertisement saying Diesel is no longer a dirty
word.
Audis corporate tagline is Vorsprung durch Technik,
which means Progress through Technology.
Just recently, Audi has changed its tagline in the
United States to Truth in Engineering.
To accent the companys centennial celebration in
2009, the Audi emblem of four overlapping rings
was modified in color and style.

No business can do everything. Even if it has the money, it will never have enough
good people. It has to set priorities. The worst thing to do is a little bit of everything.
This makes sure that nothing is being accomplished. It is better to pick the wrong
priority than none at all. Peter Drucker

The Strategic-Management Model

Source: Fred R.David, How Companies Define Their Mission, Long Range Planning 22, No. 3
(June 1988): 40

Chapter 10: Business Ethics, Social Responsibility, and Environmental Sustainability

Perform
External Audit
Chapter 3
Develop Vision
and Mission
Statements
Chapter 2

Establish
Long-Term
Objectives
Chapter 5

Generate,
Evaluate, and
Select Strategies
Chapter 6

Implement
Strategies
Management
Issues
Chapter 7

Implement
Strategies
Marketing,
Finance,
Accounting,
R&D,
MIS Issues
Chapter 8

Measure
and
Evaluate
Performance
Chapter 9

Perform
Internal Audit
Chapter 4

Chapter 11: Global/ International Issues

Strategy Formulation

Strategy Implementation

Strategy
Evaluation

8.1 The Nature of Strategy Implementation

Less than 10 percent of strategies formulated are successfully implemented!
Reasons for this low success rate: (1) failing to appropriately segment markets, (2) paying too much for a new
acquisition, and (3) falling behind competitors in R&D.
Strategy implementation directly affects the lives of plant managers, division managers, department managers, sales
managers, product managers, project managers, personnel managers, staff managers, supervisors, and all employees.
In some situations, individuals may not have participated in the strategy-formulation process at all and may not
appreciate, understand, or even accept the work and thought that went into strategy formulation.
There may even be foot dragging or resistance on their part. Managers and employees who don not understand the
business and are not committed to the business may attempt to sabotage strategy implementation efforts in hopes
that the organization will return to its old ways.

8.2 Current Marketing Issues

Countless marketing variables affects the success or failure of strategy implementation, and the scope of this course
does not allow us to address all those issues.
Some examples of marketing decisions that may require policies are
1) To use dealerships or multiple channels of distribution,
2) To use heavy, light, or no TV advertising,
3) To limit (or not) the share of business done with a single customer,
4) To be a price leader or a price follower,
5) To offer a complete or limited warranty,
6) To reward salespeople based on straight salary, straight commission, or a combination of salary/commission.
7) To advertise online or not
Another issue the extent to which companies can track individuals movement on the Internet, identify an individual
by name and e-mail address. Marketing companies such as DoubleClick, Flycast, AdKnowledge, AdForce, and Real Media
have sophisticated methods to identify who you are and your personal interests.
Marketing of late has become more about building a two-way relationship with consumers than just informing
consumers about a product or service.
Firms should provide incentives to consumers to share their thoughts, opinions, and experiences on the company Web
site.

8.2.1 New Principles of Marketing

Dont just talk to consumers work with them throughout the

marketing process.
Give consumers a reason to participate.
Listen to and join the conversation outside your companys Web
site.
Resist the temptation to sell, sell, sell. Instead attract, attract,
attract.
Dont control online conversations; let it flow freely.
Find a marketing technologist, a person who has three excellent
skill sets MARKETING, TECHNOLOGY, and SOCIAL INTERACTION.
Embrace instant messaging and chatting.
Increasing numbers of people in underdeveloped or poor countries
have cell phones but no computers, so the Internet is rapidly moving
to cell phone platforms. This is opening up even larger markets to
online marketing.

8.2.2 Advertising Media

Companies are rapidly coming to the realization that social networking sites
and video sites are better means of reaching their customers than spending so
many marketing dollars on traditional yellow pages or television, magazines,
radio, or newspaper ads.
TV viewers are passive viewers of ads, whereas Internet users take an active
role in choosing what to look at so customers on the Internet are tougher for
marketers to reach.
Everyone in the car can be online except, of course, the driver. This technology
is available for installation in all cars and is accelerating the movement from
hard media to Web-based media.
With this technology also, when the vehicle drives into a new location, you may
instantly download information on shows, museums, hotels, and other
attractions around you.

Average Amount of Time That 18- to

27- Year Olds Spend Weekly on
Various Media (in hours) (2008)
MEDIA
HOURS
On the Internet
High (13)
Watching TV
On their cell phone
Listening to the Radio
Medium(7)
Watching DVDs or VHSs
Playing video games
Reading magazines
Low(1)

Consumers now shop for what they need and less for what the want. And they dont need much.
Essentials, such as food, health-care products, and beauty aids are selling, but even in those industries,
consumers are shifting to less costly brands and stores.
There is a need for marketers to convince consumers that their brand will make life easier or better.
Consumers now often wait until prices are slashed 75 percent or more to buy.
Consumers today are very cautious about how they spend their money. Gone are the days when retailers
could convince consumers to buy something they do not need.
Companies are shifting ad dollars from newspaper, magazine, and radio to online media.

8.2.3 Purpose-Based Marketing

Purpose-Based Marketing show customers how they can improve
their lives (Jim Stengel, global marketing chief at Procter & Gamble).
He says there is need in an ad to build trust and an emotional connection
to the customer in order to differentiate your product or service.
In a weak economy when consumers are more interested in buying
cheaper brands, Stengel acknowledges that ads must promote price, but
he says ads must also show the intrinsic value of the product or service to
be cost effective.
Stengel contends that ads should do both: promote low price and build
emotional equity through purpose-based appeal.
CEO Muthar Kent at Coke says marketing today must employ optimism.
That is why Coca-Cola launched a new global ad campaign in 2009
appealing to consumers longing for comfort and optimism.
The new campaign features the new slogan Open Happiness, which
replaced Cokes prior popular slogan of three years, The Coke Side of
Life.
The Coke CEO says marketers must use feel-good messages to counter the
fallout from the economic crisis. Firms must today project to customers
that their products or services offer a beacon of comfort and optimism.
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8.3 Market Segmentation

Two variables are of central importance to strategy implementation: market segmentation

and product positioning.
Market segmentation and product positioning rank as marketings most important
contributions to strategic management.

Market segmentation can be defined as the subdividing of a market into distinct subsets of customers according to needs
and buying habits.
Market segmentation is an important variable in strategy implementation for three reasons:
1) Strategies such as market development, product development, market penetration, and diversification require increased
sales through new markets and products. To implement these strategies successfully, new or improved market
segmentation approaches are required.
2) Market segmentation allows a firm to operate with limited resources because mass production, mass distribution, and
mass advertising are not required.
3) Market segmentation decisions directly affect marketing mix variables.
Product

Price

Place

Promotion

Quality
Features & options
Style
Brand name
Packaging
Product line
Warranty
Service level
Other services

Level
Discounts &
allowances
Payment terms
Others

Distribution channels
Distribution coverage
Outlet location
Sales territories
Inventory levels &
locations
Transportation
carriers

Advertising
Personal selling
Sales promotion
Publicity

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1)
2)
3)
4)

Perhaps the most dramatic new market-segmentation strategy is the targeting of regional tastes.
Geographic and demographic bases for segmenting markets are the most commonly employed.
Alternative bases for market segmentation:
Geographic: region, county size, city size, density, climate
Demographic: age, gender, family size, family life cycle, income, occupation, education, religion, race, nationality
Psychographic: Social class, personality
Behavioral: use occasion, benefits sought, user status, usage rate, loyalty status, readiness stage, attitude toward product

Does the Internet make

market segmentation
easier?

YES! The segments of people whom marketers want to reach

online are much more precisely defined than the segments of
people reached through traditional forms of media, such as
television, radio, and magazines.
Marketers can reach persons interested in specific topics, such as
travel or fishing, by placing banners on related Web sites.

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8.4 Product Positioning

After markets have segmented so that the firm can target particular customer groups, the next step is to
find out what customers want and expect. This takes analysis and research.
A severe mistake is to assume the firms knows what customers want and expect. What the customer
believes is good service is paramount, not what the producer believes service should be.
Identifying target customers to focus marketing efforts on sets the stage for deciding how to meet the needs
and wants of particular customer groups. Product positioning is widely used for this purpose.
Product positioning entails developing schematic representations that reflect how
your products or services compare to competitors on dimensions most important
to success in the industry.
Steps in product positioning:
1) Select key criteria that effectively differentiate products or services in the industry.
2) Diagram a two-dimensional product-positioning map with specified criteria on
each axis.
3) Plot major competitors products or services in the resultant four-quadrant matrix.
4) Identify areas in the positioning map where the companys products or services
could be most competitive in the given target market. Look for vacant areas
(niches).
5) Develop a marketing plan to position the companys products or services
appropriately.
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 Because just two criteria can be examined on a single product-positioning map,

multiple maps are often developed to assess various approaches to strategy
implementation.
Multidimensional scaling could be used to examine three or more criteria
simultaneously using computer.

Some rules for using product positioning as a strategy implementation tool are:
1) Look for the hole or vacant niche. The best strategic opportunity might be an
unserved segment.
2) Dont serve two segments with the same strategy. Usually, a strategy successful
with one segment cannot be directly transferred to another segment.
3) Dont position yourself in the middle of the map. The middle usually means a
strategy that is not clearly perceived to have any distinguishing characteristics. This
rule can vary with the number of competitors. For example, when there are only
two competitors, as in U.S. presidential elections, the middle becomes the
preferred strategic position.
An effective product-positioning strategy meets two criteria:
1) It uniquely distinguishes a company from the competition, and
2) It leads customers to expect slightly less service than a company can deliver. Firms
should not create expectations that exceed the service the firm can or will deliver.
Underpromise and then overdeliver is the key!
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8.5 Finance/Accounting Issues

In this section, we examine several finance/accounting concepts

considered to be central to strategy implementation:
Acquiring needed capital
Developing projected financial statements
Preparing financial budgets
Evaluating the worth of a business

Some examples of decisions that may require finance/accounting

policies are:
1) To raise capital with short-term debt, long-term debt, preferred
stock, or common stock,
2) To lease or buy fixed assets,
3) To determine an appropriate dividend payout ratio,
4) To use LIFO (Last-in, First-out), FIFO (First-in, First-out), or a marketvalue accounting approach,
5) To extend the time of account receivables,
6) To establish a certain percentage discount on accounts within a
specified period of time, and
7) To determine the amount of cash that should be kept on hand,
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8.6 Research and Development (R&D)

R&D personnel can play an integral part in strategy implementation. These individuals
are generally charged with developing new products and improving old products in a
way that will allow effective strategy implementation.
R&D employees and managers perform tasks that include:
Transferring complex technology
Adjusting processes to local raw materials
Adapting processes to local markets
Altering products to particular tastes and specification

Strategies such as product development, market penetration, and related

diversification require that new products be successfully developed and that old
products be significantly improved.
But the level of management support for R&D is often constrained by resource
availability.
Technological improvements that affect consumer and industrial products and
services shorten product life cycles.
Companies in virtually every industry are relying on development of new products
and services to fuel profitability and growth.
Surveys suggest that the most successful organizations use an R&D strategy that ties
external opportunities to internal strengths and is linked with objectives.
Well-formulated R&D policies match market opportunities with internal capabilities.
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1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)

R&D policies can enhance strategy implementation efforts to:

Emphasize product or process improvements,
Stress basic or applied research,
Be leaders or followers in R&D,
Develop robotics or manual-type processes,
Spend a high, average, or low amount of money on R&D,
Perform R&D within the firm or to contract R&D to outside firms, and
Use university researchers or private-sector researchers.

There must be effective interactions between R&D departments and other functional departments in implementing
different types of generic business strategies.
Conflicts between marketing, finance/accounting, R&D, and information systems departments cn be minimized with
clear policies and objectives.
There are at least three major R&D approaches for implementing strategies:
1) To be the first firm to market new technological products. This is a glamorous and exciting strategy but also a dangerous
one.
2) To be an innovative imitator of successful products, thus minimizing the risks and costs of start-up. This requires excellent
R&D personnel and an excellent marketing department.
3) To be a low-cost producer by mass-producing products similar to but less expensive than products recently introduced.
This strategy requires substantial investment in plant and equipment but fewer expenditures in R&D than the two
approaches above.
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 Many firms wrestle with the decision to acquire R&D expertise from external firms or to develop R&D expertise
internally. The following guidelines can be used to help make this decision:
1) If the rate of technical progress is slow, the rate of market growth is moderate, and there are significant barriers to
possible new entrants, then in-house R&D is the preferred solution. The reason is that R&D, if successful, will result in a
temporary product or process monopoly that the company can exploit.
2) If technology is changing rapidly and the market is growing slowly, then a major effort in R&D may be very risky, because
it may lead to the development of an ultimately obsolete technology or one for which there is no market.
3) If technology is changing slowly but the market is growing quickly, there generally is not enough time for in-house
development. The prescribed approach is to obtain R&D expertise on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis from an outside
firm.
4) If both technical progress and market growth are fast, R&D expertise should be obtained through acquisition of a wellestablished firm in the industry.

Perhaps the most current trend in R&D management has been lifting the veil of secrecy whereby firms, even major
competitors, are joining forces to develop new products.
Collaboration is on the rise due to new competitive pressures, rising research costs, increasing regulatory issues, and
accelerated product development schedules.
Companies not only are working more closely with each other on R&D, but they are also turning to consortia at
universities for their R&D needs.

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8.7 Management Information System (MIS) Issues

Having an effective MIS may be the most

important factor in differentiating successful from
unsuccessful firms. The process of strategic
management is facilitated immensely in firms that
have an effective information system.
Firms that gather, assimilate, and evaluate
external and internal information most effectively
are gaining competitive advantages over other
firms. Information collection, retrieval, and
storage can be used to create competitive
advantages in ways such as cross-selling to
customers, monitoring suppliers, keeping
managers and employees informed, coordinating
activities among divisions, and managing funds.
Firms that implement strategies using the best
information will reap competitive advantages.
A good information system can allow a firm to
reduce costs.
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 Firms must increasingly be concerned about computer hackers

and take specific measures to secure and safeguard corporate
communications, files, orders, and business conducted over the
Internet.
Thousands of companies today are plagued by computer hackers
who include disgruntled employees, competitors, bored teens,
sociopaths, thieves, spies, and hired agents.
Computer vulnerability is a giant, expensive headache.

In many firms, information technology is doing away with the

workplace and allowing employee to work at home or anywhere,
anytime.
Affordable desktop videoconferencing software allows employees
to beam in whenever needed.
Many people see the officeless office trend as leading to a
resurgence of family togetherness. Even the design of homes may
change from having large open areas to having more private
small areas conducive to getting work done.
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8.8 Issues for Review and Discussion

1. Explain how Audi has been successful in the global economic

recession.
2. Diagram a product positioning map for Audi.
3. List and explain the advantages versus disadvantages of using debt
versus equity as a means of raising capital.
4. List in order of importance the limitations of the EPS?EBIT analysis.
5. For companies in general, identify and discuss three opportunities
and three threats associated with social networking activities on
the Internet.
6. How important or relevant do you believe purpose-based
marketing is for organizations today?
7. Why is it essential for organizations to segment markets and target
particular groups of consumers?
8. Explain how and why the Internet makes segmentation easier.

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